Shane O'Neill

When I was growing up in Limerick, I immersed myself in two powerful worlds: sport and acting. Luckily, I'm still pursuing both. It's a happy partnership really and I've found that they bolster each other, help one another out when one is flagging. My acting heroes were the likes of Ray MacAnally and Donal McCann and still are to this day. Both commanded the stage simply by their presence, I say simply because it seemed effortless and perhaps it was to them but it's also having the confidence to just be who you are. I also loved hearing Mark Rylance describe how you should do an audition knowing "you are enough". Beautiful! I thought to myself: this is a career worth going after. I studied drama at Trinity College Dublin in 1994 and haven't looked back even though the route is constantly meandering. Perhaps therein lies the beauty even though it's more graft really. Some of the highlights have been: performing in Big Maggie to a packed Cork Opera House. Acting alongside Demian Bichir, Frankie McCafferty and Donncha Crowley in The Runway by Ian Power; working with Natasha Waugh and David C Lynch and acting with Mark O'Halloran in The John Jameson Story. In 2021, I was fortunate to explore my musical passion and released my debut album No More Clones. I will always be grateful for the help I have received along the way from those in the industry and in life. I look forward to that next gig, that next story; an encounter with a room full of creatives who are fundamental to the way this world is shaped.